Police say that the two gangs have been violently battling for months. In the September 5 shooting, a 17-year-old youth was shot in the thigh while walking in the 5200 block of 29th Avenue South, a couple of blocks north of Dearborn Park.

The victim refused to co-operate with detectives, but police say they were able to find some evidence at the scene. Earlier this month, King County Prosecutors filed gun charges against the 19-year-old man, and then SPD gang detectives arrested him on a warrant. He then confessed to the shooting, according to police.

The accused shooter is being held on charges of assault, drive-by shooting, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

A new sidewalk will soon make South Orcas Street a bit friendlier to pedestrians. The sidewalk is to be built on the south side of Orcas between 28th Avenue South (near the Chief Sealth Trail and Dearborn Park School) and 32nd Avenue South and will include ADA-compliant ramps, rebuilt driveways, and improvements to vegetation along with the new concrete sidewalk.

However, there is some pain to come before the promise of better walking conditions. During the project work, starting September 4, South Orcas Street will be closed for 24 hours a day to eastbound traffic between Beacon Avenue South and 32nd Avenue South. There will be an open sidewalk on the north side of the street. Completion of the sidewalk project is scheduled for October 31.

A 20-year-old male fell more than 40 feet from Interstate 5 last night, while another was arrested and a gun was recovered following reported shots fired on Mid-Beacon Hill near Maple Park.

According to Seattle Police, officers responded to a shots fired call in the 4800 block of Corson Avenue South around 9:30 p.m. last night. When the police arrived on the scene, they saw several male suspects running away. One suspect was caught quickly, and a gun was recovered. Another suspect ran across the northbound lanes of I-5 and fell (or jumped) over the barrier between the northbound and southbound lanes at Airport Way South and South Snoqualmie Street, landing 40-50 feet below. A third suspect was found hiding in nearby bushes.

The fallen suspect was transported to Harborview with life-threatening injuries. The investigation continues.

Roving pit bulls attacked two people outside a Mid-Beacon Hill church Thursday night, biting a 3-year-old girl on the face and knocking down a 74-year-old woman, police said.

Officers responded to the scene, in the 5500 block of 17th Avenue South, at about 8:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a little girl attacked by a dog, said Detective Jeff Kappel of the Seattle police.

A preliminary investigation found that the little girl had just left church with her sister and mother and were walking to their car when they were approached by two pit bulls running loose.

As the mom tried to get her daughters away from the dogs and into their car, one of the dogs jumped up and bit the 3-year-old girl on the face.

A few minutes later, both dogs knocked down a 74-year-old woman. She hit her head on the pavement and also injured her hand as she was knocked to the ground.

Medics responded to the scene and transported both victims to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

The dogs were gone when officers arrived on scene. Police searched the area, but the dogs could not be found and remain at large.

Both dogs were described as full-size pit bulls, Kappel said. One had a white body with black patches on its face and was wearing a collar. The other was all black with a couple of white patches on its face and wearing a blue collar.

It has not yet been determined who owns the dogs.

Animal Control is investigating the attack and is hoping to locate the dogs’ owner. Anyone with information or who spots the dogs is encouraged to call Animal Control at 206-386-3787, and press 7.

Seattle Police report that an automotive confrontation followed by multiple gunshots sent one man to the hospital with a non-life-threatening wound to the bicep late Sunday night.

At about 10:35 p.m., three men in a Honda at Beacon Avenue South and South Spokane Street were fired at by suspects in “a small, foreign-model sedan.” The shot missed, and the victims took off. They ran into a planting strip in the 2200 block of South Lucile Street, got out of their car, and ran north on 22nd Avenue South.

The suspects, in their car, caught up to the victims at 22nd and Lucile. One suspect got out of the car and fired multiple rounds at the men, striking one in the right bicep. He then got back into the car and fled.

The suspects are still at large and there is no description available yet, nor is it known how many suspects were in the car, or what precipitated the original confrontation.

The original version of the story follows:

Seattle Police are currently investigating a shooting in the 2200 block of South Lucile Street (Mid-Beacon Hill) at around 10:45 p.m. late Sunday night that wounded a 24-year-old male in the bicep. The injury is not life-threatening, and the victim has been transported to Harborview by medics. Stay tuned for more information.

Three people have been arrested for allegedly macing, then robbing a 12-year-old girl in Beacon Hill Monday.

The girl was walking near 25th Avenue South and South Dawson Street around 2:45 p.m. when a group of three people in a car drove past her and pulled up on the street, Seattle police said.

As the girl walked toward the car, a man and woman got out, asking for directions to nearby South Brandon Street.

The girl complied, but as she started to walk off, one of the suspects sprayed the girl in the back of the head with mace. Then they grabbed the girl’s backpack, knocked her to the ground, and demanded she give over her cell phone.

The attackers then jumped back into the car and sped away. The victim wasn’t seriously hurt.

However, several witnesses called 911 and officers found the car near 46th Avenue South and South Othello and arrested the three people inside.

Taken into custody were a 20- and 22-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman. All three were booked into the King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

Once at the jail, the woman set off a metal detector, and officers found she had hidden a can of mace inside her bra, police said.

Glenn Tamura has created a proposal to place cameras to capture images of all pedestrians and motorists who travel on Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Beacon Avenue South, Columbian Way, and South Orcas Street. (See the map below.)
The cameras would be able to capture license plate information and send images to a remote server via a wireless connection.

Why this area? The KOMO article quotes neighbor Alexis Gallegos, a block watch captain in the Mid-Beacon neighborhood of Lockmore, who says that crime in the area “‘just started escalating…Now it’s to the point where you can’t go to a (neighbor’s house) without having somebody that’s had their door kicked in.'”

Tamura will discuss his proposal with neighbors at a community meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club.

It may be wintery weather, but the work parties continue at Beacon-area parks and green spaces. The Friends of Cheasty Greenspace need 40 volunteers this Saturday, December 3 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon to complete the Hazelnut Trail, then drink hot cider and eat homemade baked goods around a warm fire pit. Yum!

The Friends will provide tools and gloves, but volunteers should wear warm clothing and sturdy shoes, and bring their own water bottles. If you like, bring extra refreshments to share. Meet at 2809 South Alaska Place at 10 a.m.

The trail plan for Cheasty Greenspace at Mountain View. Click to see the web page about this plan, which includes a link to the PDF.

Next Tuesday, November 15, everyone is invited to “ride along” with Seattle Police officer Nate Shopay to get a taste of life for a patrol officer on Beacon Hill. That’s right, everyone. There’s room for the whole neighborhood, since it’s a virtual ride along — a Tweetalong! Shopay will use Twitter to post his experiences on a typical day patrolling Beacon Hill between South Orcas Street and South Othello Street, during the second watch shift from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.